Parade set at filing time of SB 5 repeal petitions

6/23/2011

COLUMBUS -- A group seeking to repeal Ohio's new law weakening public employee collective bargaining rights said Wednesday it will hold a parade when it files petitions Wednesday.

That's the day before the state deadline for filing.

On Friday, We Are Ohio claimed it had gathered more than 700,000 signatures. That's three times the 231,149 signatures that must stand up to scrutiny by county boards of elections to make the Nov. 8 ballot.

The filing of the signatures automatically would put Senate Bill 5 on hold pending the review process. If the referendum qualifies for the ballot and voters reject the law, it never would take effect.

Senate Bill 5 prohibits all public employees from striking, limits what they can negotiate, requires them to pay at least 15 percent of their health care, eliminates seniority as the sole determinant of the order of layoffs, and prohibits governments from picking up any share of their workers' share of pension contributions.

A political action committee and nonprofit organization, both called Building a Better Ohio, have been created but have yet to have a visible presence in their bid to defend the law.